Web 3.0 Metaverse Economies Are On The Rise, After A Ten-Fold User Increase

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have grown into a sector, which is developing far from the plain digital payment solution Bitcoin opted to be in 2008. Currently, a new segment is seeing broad adoption – the world of Web 3.0 crypto Metaverses.

According to research by Grayscale, the Metaverse sector may soon head to $1 trillion in market capitalization, since it has all the fundamentals for a massive growth past its current $27.5 billion market cap. For instance, the current Web 3.0 architectures already use their own digital currency, like MANA, or rely on the layer-one cryptocurrency, in most cases – Ethereum. Also, the birth of decentralized finance (DeFi) can enable users to trade in-game items, while lending platforms allow users to take out loans on their virtual land.

“Compared to other Web 3.0 and Web 2.0 segments, Metaverse virtual world users are still in their early innings, but if current growth rates remain on their current trajectory, this emerging segment has the potential to become mainstream in the coming years.” the Grayscale report noted.

The addition of NFTs, decentralized governance, cloud-based infrastructure, and self-sovereign identity creates a fruitful base for the rapid transition towards Web 3.0.

Grayscale‘s head of research David Grider and research analyst Matt Maximo further noted that Web 3.0 virtual worlds like Decentraland are just starting to emerge, but generated ten times more active wallets from the start of 2020 until June 2021.

"Web 3.0 Metaverse virtual worlds are creating real-world value for the developers, third-party creators, and users building these emerging market internet-native crypto cloud economies. All-time value spent on Web 3.0 Metaverse item sales such as virtual land, goods, and services has topped $200 million“, the researchers added.

One of the key pillars of Web 3.0 is gaming, especially when it comes to NFTs.

“During Q3 of 2021, total crypto fundraising totaled $8.2 billion with the Web 3.0 & NFT segment comprising $1.8 billion. Within the Web 3.0 & NFT sector, blockchain-based gaming attracted ~$1 billion in funding across 14 deals, ranking it the top sub[1]sector within the category.” the research paper reads.

Meanwhile, Web 3.0 Metaverse tokens such as Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND) have been on an increasing spree in November, gaining 49% and over 500% each to reach a current price point of 4.77 and $7.60, respectively.